An Ohio man was not quite sure what he was witnessing when his drone captured images of a horse trapped in a swimming pool.
FAIRFIELD TOWNSHIP, Ohio (WJW) — An Ohio man was not quite sure what he was witnessing when his drone captured images of a horse trapped in a swimming pool, and then the eventual rescue of the animal by first responders.
The story began to unfold early Sunday morning, when a homeowner in Tuscarawas County was walking her dog on her property outside Dover, and heard water splashing in her swimming pool.
She discovered a white horse was in the water and could not get out of the pool. She called 911 and firefighters from the Fairfield Township Volunteer Fire Department were among first responders who arrived at the scene for the unusual call for help.
Video of the incident was captured by Terry McFadden, who lives down the road from the property, and was testing the capabilities of the camera on his new drone, when he was alerted by the commotion in the quiet rural neighborhood.
McFadden told Nexstar's WJW, "and then when I get my drone in position, I see all the people down by the pool and I was like, 'what is that,' and I saw them fighting to get something out of the pool and I was like, 'oh man, don't tell me that's a body wrapped in a blanket,' and of course, then you see it's a horse and I'm like 'where did that come?’"
McFadden continued to capture video from overhead, as rescuers were able to lead the horse to the shallow end of the pool, remove a railing, and guide the animal up the stairs to safety.
“The horse didn't seem any the worse for wear, once they got it up in the driveway so I dare say they would have ended up needing a bigger blanket because eventually the horse probably would have hurt itself or drowned,” said McFadden.
Deputies with the Tuscarawas County Sheriff's Office then began searching the surrounding neighborhood, to see if anyone was missing a horse. Among other things, they discovered that the Ohio State Highway Patrol had received a report earlier in the night about a white horse running loose on Johnstown Road in Fairfield Township.
Investigators were then able to narrow down the search area, tracked down the owner just down the road on Johnstown, and returned the horse to its paddock after its run to freedom ended in the swimming pool. “
"An uncontrolled horse could have very well ended up dead, I think the horse is lucky and the owners are lucky and probably quite grateful to have it back in one piece,” said McFadden.
According to a report filed by the sheriff's office, the owner of the horse has offered to pay for damage the animal did to the liner of the pool in his desperate attempt to get out of the water.
